The design specialists at Volvo Trucks are still in doubt whether the truck of the future will really look like this. They are however certain that progress is getting ever faster.
"That is the whole point," Rikard Orell Design Director at Volvo Trucks, said in a release. "Progress is getting ever faster. Because of this our vision for the future is not that far away. Much of the technology in the Volvo Concept Truck 2020 is already available, other technology needs to be developed. One needs to dare stride firmly into the debate, demonstrating what one can and will do. Just tinkering at the edges runs the risk of progress slipping away."
Volvo's design concept previews a safer and more efficient road transport. For example, designers came up with the idea of linking vehicles together wirelessly into long trains that travel across the continents at 56 mph (90 km/h).
"This will be possible when the transport sector's vision of green corridors becomes reality," added Rikard Orell. "Here heavy goods vehicles are separated from other traffic, driving in their own lanes, like a railway but without rails."
Advantages can be easily seen: road safety increases, transport services require less space and wear on the roads decreases. Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions drop and the driver can rest behind the wheel while the truck drives itself. This way, transport times can be cut and deliveries will be made more quickly.
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